"Federal judge delays 9/11 deals that would have found terror mastermind guilty"
Michael Loria
January 10th, 2025
Peaceful Tomorrows member, Elizabeth Miller, was quoted in an article written by Michael Loria for USA Today.
To read the full article, click here.
Instead, on Thursday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered an administrative stay on the case. The stay gives the court more time to review the issue before deciding if the deals can proceed. It’s unclear how long the review will take. It comes a day after attorneys for Mohammed, often called KSM, and lieutenants Mustafa al Hawsawi and Walid Bin Attash had told a judge that their clients were fully prepared to plead guilty.
“That was really remarkable to see he’s willing to do that,” said Elizabeth Miller of Mohammed’s commitment to plead guilty this week. Miller lost her father, Douglas Miller, a firefighter in 9/11. “It was just unfortunate that it’s not legally binding and then we had the stay, so it’s back to total pause.” The family members will have to return home with the case still up in the air.
Justice feels long overdue for those who lost loved ones in 9/11 and many view the plea agreements as the only way to proceed. The torture the men experienced at the hands of CIA operatives has made some evidence against them inadmissible in court.
Miller was among about 10 family members of victims to take the special charter flight down to the base in Cuba to hear proceedings. She and many others were also hoping to get a chance to ask Mohammed and the others questions about the terrorist strikes as part of the guilty plea agreements.
“I thought I would get to hear the man who came up with the plan to kill my dad, the man responsible for the idea to kill all these people, admit guilt,” she told USA TODAY. “I thought I would hear that from his mouth.”
It’s expected the court will not make any further decisions regarding the case until at least next month, said Ron Flesvig, a spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions. The case will instead be left to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“That could derail this even further, which is disheartening,” Miller said. “It’s so frustrating and sad that it’s almost comical because if you can't laugh at some dysfunction you would just sit and cry.”
They have grown old at Guantanamo since then. Miller described their underwhelming appearance in court this week. Hawsawi sits in a special chair due to a prolapsed anus from CIA torture, she said.
“You think they’re going to be monsters,” she said, “and they really just look like men, men who’ve been imprisoned for a long time.”